Former President and flagbearer hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama says Ghanaians are experiencing severe hardship under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) than they did under his government.

Speaking in the Ellembelle district on the 4th day of his tour of the Western region, the former President told a gathering that most developmental projects in the district began under the administration of the late President John Evans Atta Mills that saw him also continuing.

According to him, it is by divine intervention that the NDC lost the last general elections for Ghanaians to witness the inability of the NPP to fulfil their lofty promises.

“Today if you say you are hungry, they [NPP] say, we have given you free SHS; if drivers say they are unable to afford fuel, they say we have given you free SHS so keep quiet; farmers who complain they cannot purchase fertiliser for their cocoa, they say keep quiet we have given you free SHS.

“If you complain of anything they say we have given you free SHS…free SHS is good but in the bible, it is written that man shall not live by bread alone…there is need to prioritise so that government will not shirk its responsibilities under free SHS.

“Roads and hospitals cannot be constructed, roads that my government gave out on contract before exiting are all undone; now fertiliser not meant to be sold are being sold to farmers for 80cedis…all under the excuse of free SHS,” Mr. Mahama said.

The former President also described the double track system being operated under the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Senior High Schools as traffic light and stated that claims being attributed to him that he will abrogate the free SHS are untrue and unfounded.